Sedentary vs. Lightly Actve?

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Nidda_C
Nidda_C Posts: 81 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Simply put, I'm confused.

Here is the profile of the things I DON'T log:
-I run to catch the bus every day (3-5 minutes)
-I take transit daily
-I am a student and have to walk from class to class and to the c-train station (around 10-15 minutes each time)
-I cook or make my dad food
-I occasionally clean the house thoroughly at a moderate pace
-I go shopping when things run out

-When I am not doing any of the above I am usually on my bed on the laptop though

I think it is tedious to log every single detail of a person's active life, so I am wondering where would my profile fit in: sedentary or lightly active?

I am hoping for lightly active lol because otherwise I will have to do more intense workouts which I don't really want to do....

Replies

  • newki
    newki Posts: 30 Member
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    You could try lightly active and if it isn't working for you lower to sedentry.
  • Schmidty102
    Schmidty102 Posts: 168 Member
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    You are definitely lightly active. Sedentary means you basically have no movement throughout the day. I would personally consider myself lightly active, but the numbers that MFP gives me to eat are more consistent to what I should eat with me putting active.
  • Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door
    Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door Posts: 735 Member
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    I would suggest trying lightly active. sedentary is mainly those who don't ever work out or make an effort to do it.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
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    How many hours or what percentage of a typical day do you think you're on your feet? What about on days when you're not in school?
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
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    You are certainly lightly active! Heck, I'm a stay at home mom right now who does virtually no activity outside the gym and when I'm set to sedentary I am eating too little.

    Plus, there is some guesswork and approximation in the system. Choose lightly active, log out-of-the-ordinary and workout activities, and reassess in a month to see if it's working for you. I bet it will!
  • Nidda_C
    Nidda_C Posts: 81 Member
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    Percentage is hard to calculate. But mostly when I am home I am on my bed. Although, on weekends I go out to our place of worship. I don't know if stretching counts either............but since I am Muslim and I have to pray 5 times a day and that is a bunch of stretching in itself everyday.
  • Nidda_C
    Nidda_C Posts: 81 Member
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    Thank you all ^_____^
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
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    I would suggest trying lightly active. sedentary is mainly those who don't ever work out or make an effort to do it.
    This is incorrect. Activity level should not include dedicated workouts; they should be logged using the Exercise tab.
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
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    Yup, mark yourself down as lightly active. Anything outside your normal daily duties, such as a workout, is what you would log.
  • kimmynw1
    kimmynw1 Posts: 97 Member
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    Ok what about for me?
    I sit at a desk all day for work. Go home make dinner and then sit and watch movies with the family. Would I be sedentary? I walk on my breaks and lunch but log it as exercise
  • BlackJack96
    BlackJack96 Posts: 43 Member
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    You seem lightly active. This is where something like the fitbit helps since on the days where you have a bunch of classes and are running around you'll get more calories but on the days when you are sitting down studying all day you'll get less.
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
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    Ok what about for me?
    I sit at a desk all day for work. Go home make dinner and then sit and watch movies with the family. Would I be sedentary? I walk on my breaks and lunch but log it as exercise

    sedentary.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I have always been set to sedentary myself. When I am active, I'm a beast - running miles and miles, heavy lifting, backpacking, etc., and I log those things. But when I'm not doing those things, I'm mostly sitting on my butt - therefore, sedentary. I err on the side of caution and don't give myself more credit for day-to-day stuff than I deserve. But in exchange for that, I make sure I eat ALL my exercise calories! I have been on maintenance successfully as a sedentary person PLUS eating exercise cals for almost 2 years, so it has clearly worked for me.
  • johnpowell4
    johnpowell4 Posts: 3
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    Good topic it is hard to decide what level of activity to put. I think as long as you are losing wait you are probably right on or close enough.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I would suggest trying lightly active. sedentary is mainly those who don't ever work out or make an effort to do it.
    This is incorrect. Activity level should not include dedicated workouts; they should be logged using the Exercise tab.

    Agreed! Sedentary has nothing to do with whether or not you work out. It's all about how you spend your day-to-day (when you aren't working out.) I'm sedentary and I run marathons. I work out most days, but when I'm not working out I'm sitting on my butt being sedentary. This is why we track our exercise separately. :drinker:

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